AFI FEST...kicks off with Meryl Streep in "Doubt". Che screens at centerpiece gala!

The AFI FEST organizers announced that DOUBT will premiere at the Festival’s Opening Night Gala presentation on Thursday, October 30th.

The screening is a much-anticipated event - especially in view of the fact AFI will unveil an unfinished cut of the film - when it is shown at the ArcLight's Cinerama Dome.

DOUBT is the tale of a nun who confronts a priest when she suspects him of abusing a black student, which he denies. It is a gripping story about the quest for truth, the forces of change, and the devastating consequences of blind justice in an age defined by moral conviction.



The AUDI sponsored presentation was directed by John Patrick Shanley which he adapted for the wide screen from his Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award-winning play.

“The movie is still being finished, but we were so excited to show DOUBT and help our friends at AFI FEST and the American Film Institute at the same time. We couldn’t possibly pass up the opportunity,” said Miramax president Daniel Battsek.

Oscar-winner Meryl Streep stars with Philip Seymour Hoffman, Viola Davis, and Amy Adams.

Scott Rudin and Mark Roybal have producer credits on the project by Miramax Films due in theaters on December 12.

AFI FEST is an eleven-day annual event which features international films from emerging filmmakers, global showcases of the latest work from the great film masters, nightly special screenings and red-carpet gala premieres.

The 22nd edition of AFI FEST will run from October 30 - November 9, 2008, and feature 151 films from 38 countries, as well as panels, receptions and special events.

Each year, AFI FEST presents international competitions of features, documentaries and shorts, as well as regional showcases as part of its broader World Cinema section, as well.

Since 2000, AFI attendance has tripled to over 65,000, according to my sources at AFI.

In addition, the acquisition of feature films for global distribution has become routine during the high-energy action-packed event.

In 2007, over 600 press representatives secured accreditation to the Festival.

This year, AFI anticipate over 700 accredited press representatives from around the globe.

Moi included!

In addition to the GALA and premiere screening of DOUBT, other highlights of the Festival include a handful of Centerpiece Galas sprinkled throughout the Festival sure to be sold-out: CHE, (Stephen Soderbergh); THE WRESTLER (Darren Aronofsky); and LAST CHANCE HARVEY (Joel Hopkins).

There will also be tributes to Tilda Swinton and Danny Boyle; AFI Digital Content Lab's DIGIFEST (a showcase of digital prototypes); and glamorous premiere screenings attended by such artists as Dustin Hoffman, Emma Thompson, Benicio Del Toro, Rachel Weisz, Joaquin Phoenix, Edward Zwick, Mickey Rourke, and Marisa Tomei.

President Lyndon Johnson signed legislation in the Rose Garden at the White House in 1965 - and with that mighty stroke of the pen - created the prestigious National Endowment for the Arts.

On that auspicious occasion, he noted for the record:

"We will create an American Film Institute that will bring together leading artists of the film industry, outstanding educators, and young men and women who wish to pursue this 20th century art form as their life's work."



AFI's original 22-member Board of Trustees included Chair Gregory Peck, Vice Chair Sidney Poitier, Francis Ford Coppola, Arthur Schlesinger, Jr., Jack Valenti and other representatives from the arts and academia.



Under the leadership of AFI's founding director George Stevens, Jr., the institute established a training program for filmmakers known as the Center for Advanced Film Studies, where the first class included Terrence Malick, David Lynch and Paul Schrader.

A repertory film exhibition program at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and the AFI Catalog of Feature Films the definitive source for American film history were also created in the first five years.

Today, AFI is not only a National Institute that provides leadership in screen education, but a respected one that celebrates excellence in the art of film, television and digital media.

Under the leadership of Jean Picker Firstenberg (2nd AFI Director) the institute's eight-acre Hollywood campus was purchased and the film training program grew into the renowned AFI Conservatory and accredited graduate school.

In essence, AFI trains the next generation of filmmakers, maintains America's film heritage through the AFI Catalog of Feature Films, and explores new digital technologies in entertainment and education through the AFI Digital Content Lab and K-12 Screen Education Center.

The annual AFI AWARDS honor outstanding motion pictures and television programs annually.

In addition, the AFI's 100 Years series, brought extraordinary renewed public interest in classic American movies.

Today, AFI's Life Achievement Award is the highest honor bestowed on an artist in film.

Honorees over the past 35 years have included John Ford, James Cagney, Orson Welles, Bette Davis, Billy Wilder, Sidney Poitier, Steven Spielberg, Martin Scorsese, Robert De Niro, Meryl Streep, George Lucas and Al Pacino.

Now in its 40th year as a cultural force in America, the AFI Board named Bob Gazzale (a film historian and television producer) the institute's President and CEO in November 2007.

Savages...poignant tale about getting old!

Two favorite actors - Laura Linney and Philip Seymour Hoffman - are starring in "Savages".

So, when the lights fell at the screening, I settled in for what I expected would be a night to remember.

It was.

By cleverly using a handful of expert cross-cuts in the opening scenes, the filmmakers quickly establish early on that an elderly gentleman is losing his grip - dementia, in fact - may be setting in.

An urgent call is put out to his two children who have been essentially out-of-touch with their father for a number of years.

The brother (Hoffman) and sister (Linney) are soon thrust together in a tug-of-war over various issues - things left unsaid, unsavory memories from the past, choices to be made about their father - you name it.

There's a whole ball of sticky wax to unravel.

Hoffman's character - Jon Savage - is a self-absorbed teacher of philosophy; while his sister, Wendy (Linney) is an unproduced playwright with promise. Each is struggling to come to terms with his or her own shortcomings - most of all - unpleasant troubling feelings that bubble beneath the surface that are striving to be reckoned with.

In the early chapters of the feature - directed by Tamara Jenkins - there are a number of searing painful insights into the issue of elderly care - or the lack thereof.

Right off-the-bat, the audience is faced with the bitter truth - the reality - of old age.

In fact, during these intense moments, anxieties of my own surface.

Also - I sensed a feeling of foreboding all around me, too, as the mostly over-fifty audience appear to be reflecting on their own circumstances and the approaching darkness that beckons most in their middle-age.

Will a caring hand be there to nurture and guide each of us at the end?

Curiously, when a moviegoer in a wheelchair arrived at the theatre with a friend just before the curtain fell, all the reserved spaces for disabled persons were taken.

At first - none of the moviegoers (who did not appear to be seriously afflicted physically in any way) - were inclined to part with their comfy spot.

When one woman finally succumbed, it was not before lamenting to anyone within earshot.

"I don't mind giving it to them, as long as they don't demand it."

A sad commentary, indeed.

Should a disabled person in a wheelchair have to ask for what is rightfully theirs?

Likewise - in a civilized society - should an elderly person be forced to make a plea to be treated with dignity and respect in their final days?

The whole scenario is a tough row to hoe - but an aspect of life on this mortal coil - most are forced to deal with at some point.

Personally, as the painful images emanated from the silver screen, I was hit with many conflicting revealing emotions.

Dying suddenly - or going out by one's own hand - appears to be preferable to the one articulated in the film.

For example - in "Savages" - various options are offered to the children so they can valiantly press on.

When the siblings struggle over the issue of a nursing home - as opposed to an assisted-care facility - it all boils down to humanity, the daughter maintains stridently.

Hoffman's character lashes back.

In a gut-wrenching poignant speech that is raw and bursting with emotion, he eloquently argues that the finely-manicured lawns, the aesthetically-pleasing facilities, and the caring attitudes depicted in the glossy brochure are not aimed at the ailing elderly on death's doorstep.

"It's all about appeasing the family's guilt."

That is the truth, he asserts.

The approach softens the pain a little and appears to be an appropriate insightful message to pay heed to.

None-the-less - one has to wonder - what is the true nature of God's plan?

To test one's compassion against the pain and sorrow of another?

To demonstrate the irony of life?

Sentient beings are born into the world wide-eyed and excited about the wonder of life.

Then, later on - go out much the same - in diapers and in a blur of faces and uncertainty.

Are the final gruesome hours a parting glance on the human condition or a last ditch-effort to reflect on the meaning of life?

Or, just a humbling opportunity to make amends so we can prepare to meet the maker?